Close Tax Loopholes, ActionAid Urges Govt Following Zambia’s issuance of its second international sovereign bond of USD$1 billion earlier this month, the Government must commit to close tax loopholes in order to mobilise much needed resources for essential public services, ActionAid said today. This would include a continuation of tax policy reform, rationalising the investment tax incentives regime, promoting efficiency and simplifying tax administration. During the 2014 budget address, the Minister of Finance indicated that the Government would ensure sustainable borrowing and continue to conduct regular debt sustainability analyses to guide its future borrowing decisions, however the 2014 budget debt liquidation amount of K4,672.9 million is greater than the 2014 allocation to health and almost four times more than the allocation to social protection. ActionAid Zambia country director Pamela Chisanga said: “We commend the Government for indicating that this bond will be directed towards economic infrastructure, however it must demonstrate a willingness to mobilise domestic resources given the current budget deficit and increased level of debt. “Multinational companies regularly deprive Zambia of vital money that could be used for education and health, so measures must be taken to close the tax loopholes that facilitate this. “Otherwise, the Government’s obligation to service its debt will inevitably be prioritised over the provision of much needed quality public services to the millions of Zambians living in poverty.” zambiareports/2014/05/01/close-tax-loopholes-actionaid-urges-govt/
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 05:44:32 +0000